Public Company News

AVZ Minerals has taken another decisive step towards production, with the company’s metallurgical test work successfully generating a high-purity lithium sulphate product for potential use in the production of lithium-ion batteries. The current testing program forms a key part of the development program over its Manono lithium-tin project in the central Africa, which is also assessing the viability of downstream processing at the evolving operation.

Okapi Resources has completed due diligence on the historic Enmore gold project 30 kilometres south-east of Armidale nearby the recently revived Hillgrove gold-antimony mine in north-eastern NSW and decided to press ahead with the staged acquisition of the asset. Enmore boasts a pair of advanced walk-up drill targets that have returned high-grade gold values from rock chip sampling work and drilling undertaken by previous owners.

Comet Resources has kicked an early goal in 2021 with initial field work across its Barraba base-metal project in NSW returning high-grade copper assays. Surface sampling at the historic Murchison mine has unearthed samples grading up to 4.6 per cent copper, 4.0 per cent zinc and 0.7 per cent cobalt, confirming the high-grade nature of the mineralisation across the prospect.

Legend Mining has bounded into the new year releasing its best nickel intercept to date from the company’s Mawson discovery in WA’s Fraser Range. The drill bit has carved out a 31.1 metre string of massive sulphide core which weighs in at an impressive 2.80 per cent nickel and 2.04 per cent copper from 200.7 metres down-hole, pointing to the deeper potential of the ore system.

Calidus Resources has bought out another royalty tied to its developing Warrawoona gold project in WA’s East Pilbara region that it says will help boost cash flows from the new mining and processing operation. The company sewed up the 1.25 per cent profit royalty over the granted mining leases at Warrawoona, leaving one remaining 1.25 per cent profit royalty attached to the same tenements.

ASX-listed Venture Minerals has the drill rods spinning at its Kulin prospect, cutting some diamond core to follow up solid gold assays from trenches dug on its 100 per cent-owned ground, east of the massive Boddington gold mine in WA’s South West region. One trench uncovered 31m at 1.0 g/t gold and a second unearthed 20m at 0.6 g/t gold.

ASX-listed explorer, PolarX has struck a deal that gives it an exclusive option to acquire the historic Humboldt Range gold-silver project in north-western Nevada in the US nearby two producing mines. The Perth-based company says rock chip and grab samples taken at Humboldt Range between 2005 and 2009 maxed out at 3,384 grams per tonne gold and 2,836.6 g/t silver.

88 Energy has added a historic oil project to its armoury of petroleum assets picking up the old Umiat oil discovery that sits immediately south of its Project Peregrine on the North Slope of Alaska where planning is well advanced for the spudding of the Merlin-1 well next month. The undeveloped Umiat project hosts gross 2P reserves independently estimated at 123.69 million barrels of oil.

Surefire Resources is eyeing a rapid return to drilling at its Yidby gold project in WA’s Murchison region and is set to follow up on recent high-grade drill intercepts with a 40-hole, 6,000m reverse circulation drilling campaign in the coming weeks. Results from the prospect included an imposing 56 metres at 1.97 g/t gold from only 44 metres down-hole, proving ample incentive to accelerate the company’s exploration program over the discovery.

Victory Mines has hit the ground running in 2021 kicking off a second significant RC drilling campaign at its Coogee gold project 55km south-east of Kalgoorlie to follow up on a string of high-grade gold hits last year. One of the notable gold intersections was 12m grading 12.01 g/t gold from 93m including 3m at 35.87 g/t south of the historic Coogee open pit.

Ora Banda Mining is edging closer to production start-up at its historic Davyhurst gold project 120 kilometres north-west of Kalgoorlie, with definitive feasibility study numbers pointing to a cracking cash cow for WA’s next gold miner in waiting. The company previously indicated it was targeting a first gold pour at the redeveloped Davyhurst mining and processing operation towards the end of January.

With the world continuing to devour a bevy of 21st-century metals to feed its burgeoning renewable energy, electric vehicle and technology industries, ASX-listed Venture Minerals is ramping up its hunt for copper, zinc, gold and silver in WA while the company is also on track to commence iron ore production in north-western Tasmania early in the new year.